Chaotic Zone (4000)

That night, The moon shone bright amid sparse stars, its clear radiance descending like a white veil and dispelling some of the darkness.

In a somewhat luxurious inn, Little Doctor Fairy slept soundly while Ling Li sat cross-legged beside her. His breathing was steady as he cultivated, strands of energy from heaven and earth transforming into fine threads that quietly flowed into the sea of qi within his Dantian.

After his bloodline had advanced to the second grade, Ling Li's cultivation had begun to show results. Since reaching the third grade some time ago, those results had become even more apparent. Although a night of cultivation yielded less energy than swallowing a Demonic Core by an immeasurable margin, even a mosquito's leg was still meat. There was no reason to give it up. Thus, aside from practicing his swordsmanship and doing his marital duty for experience, nightly cultivation had become Ling Li's compulsory course.

By his reckoning, he had been in this world for exactly two years. His attribute panel, which had been nearly blank at the start, had now become:

Host: Ling Li

Cultivation: Great Fighting Master, Two Stars (80/200,000)

Attribute: Dark

Bloodline: Devouring Spirit Clan (Third Grade: 40/4000)

Skill: Blade Technique (Mastery: 80/100)

Weapon: Dark Night (Yellow Grade High Rank: 806/1000)

Ability: Devouring Spirit Demonic Core (Development: 1/3)

Ability Skills (1/3):

Devour Spirit LV.2 (3000/20000) (Can evolve at LV.10)

Shadow Transformation (Locked)

Dark Realm (Locked)

Other: System Space (Activated)

Energy: 600

Ling Li had long since consumed all the Demonic Cores he had bought from the Mitel Auction House. During that time, he had also purchased medicinal ingredients from Alchemist Guilds in various cities to devour, barely managing to advance to Two-Star Great Fighting Master. Moreover, with the absorption of energy, his Devour ability skill had finally evolved into Devour Spirit!

After advancing to Great Fighting Master, the Dou Qi in his body had not undergone any major changes. It was still liquid, except the droplets had become full, spherical beads, and Ling Li could release them at will.

However, after the Devour ability skill evolved into Devour Spirit, Ling Li had not discovered anything particularly special about it. The skill's effects had not been strengthened, nor had it gained any additional abilities. Of course, it was also possible that he simply had not noticed them yet.

The improvement in his blade technique was thanks to that Nameless Sword Skill. The methods and techniques for controlling Dou Qi within had benefited Ling Li immensely.

But while Ling Li had improved considerably, his expenses had naturally been considerable as well. The one million Gold Coins he had brought out of the cliff cave had already been squandered. Even the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture had been sold to trade for a Qi Gathering Powder for Little Doctor Fairy.

"Even though I have an Alchemist Robe, I'm fucking not an alchemist. I can't refine pills. With money flowing out like water, where the hell am I supposed to get Gold Coins?" Ling Li looked at the few remaining Gold Coins in System Space and felt a headache coming on.

As the saying went, a penny could stump a hero. Ling Li still had a Mysterious Tier High Grade sound-wave Dou Technique, Roaring Lion Chant, and a Mystic Tier Middle Stage flying Dou Technique, Purple Cloud Wings. They could certainly fetch a good price, but they were the funds he had set aside to buy a dark-attribute Dou Technique and could not be spent recklessly.

"Why am I thinking so much? If I run out of money, I can just rob someone. It's not like I'm a good person anyway." Ling Li shook his head, tossing aside the issue of his financial crisis before continuing to absorb the energy of heaven and earth.

Ling Li had never considered himself a good person. Of course, in this world, perhaps as long as one did not kill people as casually as a butcher or kill for pleasure, one could be considered a good person. After all, aside from the dry bones in deserted graves, whose hands were not stained with at least a little blood?

The two stayed in Da Ling City for only one day. Collecting rare metals and asking about the whereabouts of dark-attribute cultivation methods had become a habit Ling Li had developed over the past half year. Unfortunately, even at the final stop within the Gamma Empire, Ling Li had not found a single metal that Dark Night could not cut through, nor a dark-attribute cultivation method.

South of Da Ling City, flying transport services no longer existed. Even Horned Horse Carriage companies were scarce, while checkpoint inspections along the way became far stricter. The atmosphere of chaos seemed to grow denser the farther south Ling Li traveled. However, with two Alchemist Robes draped over them, no accidents occurred. This could not help but make Ling Li sigh at how useful the identity of an alchemist was.

Half of the Gamma Empire's territory consisted of the Tagor Desert and the Monster Beast Mountain Range, leading countless cultivators to take up the free profession of mercenary. However, there were many kinds of mercenaries, and those active along this border were mostly a special type known as War Mercenaries.

The Gamma Empire's borders were not as peaceful as one might imagine. Friction and warfare persisted year-round. This special group known as War Mercenaries was relatively neutral. They disliked the stable path of hunting Monster Beasts, preferring instead to aid one side during border conflicts in pursuit of immense profits.

Though the rewards for such work were substantial, the danger was equally extreme. Within the meat grinder of war, even dozens or hundreds of people could be slaughtered clean in a single clash.

Ling Li did not linger in the various fortresses, instead heading south all the way. In just three days, he arrived at the Gamma Empire's southernmost fortress—Town Ghost Pass.

Traveling several hundred li farther south from Town Ghost Pass would bring one to a desolate plain. This place was called the Black Domain Great Plain, or by another well-known name—the Black Corner Region.

The Black Corner Region was a triangular stretch of barren plains wedged between the territories of the Chuyun Empire, the Gamma Empire, and the Ambition Empire. It had originally been a place where several empires exiled heinous criminals. However, due to its unique terrain, the various empires found it difficult to extend their reach here, and the place gradually became a paradise for the most vicious criminals.

Although the Black Corner Region bore the title of the most chaotic place, perhaps "real" would have been more fitting than "chaotic." Here, there were absolutely no restraints of law or morality. The thin sugar coating of false justice was ripped away, leaving only the most genuine desires and the unrestrained law of the jungle, where the weak were prey to the strong.

The strong could do whatever they pleased here, while the weak had no rights whatsoever. Of course, the weak would not live here either, because those active here were all strong people who had survived this harsh environment. Yet even the lives of the strong were cheap in this region. Countless experts died here every day.

Located at the center of the three great empires and gathering fugitives from every nation, the Black Corner Region was also a transit hub for intelligence and a place to fence stolen goods. Countless pieces of information passed through every day. To put it more plainly, as long as you made a name for yourself in the Black Corner Region, the entire northwest corner of the Dou Qi Continent would hear your name. Moreover, the arrival of countless desperadoes had gathered unimaginable treasures and wealth here. Money and fame could both be obtained in this place.

Of course, the prerequisite for making a name for yourself here was possessing sufficient strength.

Ling Li's goal was naturally not fame, nor did he possess enough strength to become famous. He had come here only to find a Mysterious Tier dark-attribute cultivation method. If he could also find a suitable short sword and materials fit for forging a scabbard, that would be even better...

Across the endless great plain, all one could see was monotonous black, set against the dim sky. An oppressive atmosphere lingered over the plain, and the unchanging desolation that defined this place could not help but stir a sense of irritation.

This was the gateway to the Black Corner Region—the Black Domain Great Plain. Stepping into this place meant entering the territory of the Black Corner Region.

On an ordinary Horned Horse Carriage, Ling Li watched as the outlines of buildings gradually emerged along the black horizon at the edge of his vision. A faint smile appeared on his lips as he muttered, "I've finally arrived... the most chaotic region on the entire Dou Qi Continent..."

Naturally, the Gamma Empire's Horned Horse Carriage companies would not extend their routes to a place like the Black Domain Great Plain. But if they traveled on foot, Little Doctor Fairy was too weak to keep up with Ling Li's speed. Thus, Ling Li had spent a full five hundred Gold Coins to buy a Horned Horse Carriage.

As the carriage drew closer, the outlines on the horizon slowly enlarged and became clear. Scattered tents entered Ling Li's vision. It turned out to be a small town.

The town was not large, with only a little over a hundred tents and several crude buildings standing within it. From a great distance away, Ling Li's sharp senses could already faintly pick up the sounds of people coming from inside the tents.

"Whoa!!"

Just as Ling Li guided the horse to within twenty or thirty meters of the town, his keen ears caught several sharp whistling sounds slicing through the air. He immediately pulled the reins, forcibly slowing the Horned Horse.

"Neighhh..."

The horse, hurt by the blow, hurriedly stopped its legs. Yet under the force of inertia, it still charged forward for some distance, rearing up on its hind legs.

Before the rearing horned horse had fully come to a stop, more than a dozen piercing whistles tore through the air. Sharp arrows streaked into its belly in trails of multicolored light, perfectly serving as a shield for Ling Li. Only a few poorly aimed arrows flew past Ling Li's ears and struck the carriage frame, the remaining force making their shafts tremble continuously in the air.

It was clear that those who had fired the arrows had no intention of holding back just because of Ling Li's Alchemist Robe...

"Hehe, it's been half a year. Someone's finally making a move against me again..." Ling Li flipped his hand and drew Dark Night from the System Space. Ever since he had put on this Alchemist Robe, no brain-dead fools had come looking for trouble, leaving Dark Night without the slightest improvement over the past six months.

"Looks like... you're ready to begin the show!" A sharp glint flashed through Ling Li's eyes. Dou Qi rapidly surged from his calves, solidifying into black vines that wound upward before finally forming a pair of faintly glowing boots pressed tightly against his feet.

Solidified Dou Qi was an ability Ling Li had naturally gained after advancing to the Great Fighting Master level. This pair of boots was the first component of his Dou Qi Armor. It was worth mentioning that Ling Li's Dou Qi Armor was not especially thick or heavy; it was as light and thin as leather clothing. Yet its enhancement effect was not diminished in the slightest.

"Boom!!!"

Ling Li stomped heavily on the carriage shaft, and the immense force snapped the wooden beam apart. Accompanied by a deafening blast, a ring-shaped energy shockwave spread outward from where he had just been standing.

With that single step, Ling Li's speed abruptly surged from zero. His figure dragged a string of afterimages as he shot toward the tribe.

The distance of over twenty meters vanished in an instant. Behind the cheval de frise at the town entrance, a group of people were still astonished that Ling Li had reacted so quickly when, in the next moment, they felt a chill breeze brush the backs of their necks. A voice rang out behind them. "Good afternoon, everyone!"

The men turned around, only to see a dark blade slash through the air. A pitch-black blade qi rapidly filled their vision. Several heads rolled to the ground, while dark-red blood blossomed through the air with its cloying, bloody scent.

Blade qi—after advancing to the Great Fighting Master level, Ling Li had been able to use it by projecting his Dou Qi outward. And just now had been his first time using it.

"The consumption is a little high..." Ling Li felt the Dou Qi in his Qi Sea shrink by one-fifth in an instant, and he frowned. Even with his exceptionally abundant Dou Qi, he could only unleash five blade qi attacks.

Still, its power was worthy of that expenditure. After severing several heads, the blade qi continued onward without slowing, only gradually dissipating after cutting through several cheval de frise stakes roughly twenty centimeters in diameter ahead of them.

With several people instantly killed by Ling Li, the others who had attacked him without cause finally reacted. Rather than showing fear, they drew the swords, sabers, and other weapons they carried and charged at Ling Li.

"Next time, wipe your eyes clean before making a move. Though I don't think there'll be a next time..."

Dark Night traced a flourish in his hand as his figure turned into an afterimage, weaving back and forth among the remaining dozen or so people. When Ling Li stopped in a sheathing stance, the bodies behind him froze for a moment before their heads rolled away and their bodies crumpled to the ground.

"Huh? What's going on? Why did Dark Night gain experience?" Ling Li looked at Dark Night's experience bar, which had increased by 5 Experience Points, somewhat puzzled.

These people had not even reached the Great Fighting Master level, and Dark Night had shown no sign of drawing blood. How could its Experience Points have increased?

He tried stabbing a few more times into their bodies, but Dark Night still showed no signs of drawing blood, and its Experience Points did not increase either.

Unable to figure it out, Ling Li briefly searched the dozen or so men and stripped them of their valuables, only obtaining a few hundred Gold Coins.

Returning to the horned horse carriage, he had Little Doctor Fairy get down, then stored the somewhat damaged carriage and the horned horse's corpse in the System Space. The horned horse had taken more than ten arrows just now, every one of them completely buried in its abdomen. It was now foaming blood from its mouth, clearly beyond saving.

When they reached the town entrance again, two burly men in leather armor took the initiative to open the crude wooden gate. Clearly, Ling Li's earlier display had had some effect. In this chaotic place, there were no convoluted rules. As long as one had enough strength, one could earn the corresponding respect.

After entering the town, Ling Li swept his gaze around. The hostile looks around him shifted away somewhat helplessly, though the ferocity in their eyes did not fade. Given the chance, these people would absolutely show no mercy. Ling Li was strong, yes, but great strength also meant he likely possessed even more wealth. Moreover, the Alchemist Robes on Ling Li and Little Doctor Fairy were extremely conspicuous. An alchemist's status held no deterrent power in this place. On the contrary, it was more like a moving treasure trove—just one they were not fortunate enough to claim.

Ling Li paid no attention to the various schemes in their minds. He was not some murderous madman; as long as others did not provoke him, he could not be bothered to act. Still, in a chaotic and evil place like this, kindness would only become a burden. The effect of killing a chicken to scare the monkeys was quite good.

Only after Ling Li and Little Doctor Fairy disappeared at the end of the street did the two burly men close the wooden gate again and wait for the next prey to approach. The others did not bother collecting the headless corpses, nor was there any pity in their eyes. They simply treated what had happened as a joke and discussed it. "Heh, that young man was really ruthless. He acted cleanly and decisively, without the slightest hesitation when killing. A real man. Looks like he'll live quite comfortably in the Black Corner Region!"

"I'm telling you, that woman's waist was really slender. Keeping her by his side must feel pretty damn good!"

"Are you kidding? Could the women an alchemist lord plays with possibly be bad?"

"Hahaha, an alchemist lord? More like a fat sheep. If that guy weren't so strong, I'd have gone up and robbed the hell out of him already!"

"Tsk tsk, Rogue C actually provoked that kind of lunatic. Not a single one of his underlings escaped. What rotten luck."

Naturally, the already distant Ling Li had no idea that these people had given him such high praise. Even if he knew, he probably would not have cared much.

After taking only a few steps down the short street, Ling Li felt countless strange gazes upon him. After a moment's thought, he stored both Alchemist Robes in the System Space. In the Black Corner Region, these things seemed less like protective talismans and more like trouble.

People on the Dou Qi Continent seemed to hold a fixed impression of alchemists: this special group was not skilled at combat themselves, and it was the vast network behind them that made them like hornets' nests, discouraging others from provoking them. But in a place like the Black Corner Region, there was a different kind of equality for all. The identity of an alchemist was not very useful here.